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Saturday, January 29, 2011

I don't know how to express it other than to say that Edward Sharpe or Alexander or whatever tripped out name he probably likes to call himself to his friends, was absolutely brilliant tonight. The man has tapped into that part of the collective which just reverberates and resonates with everything around it. The Forum was such a wonderful place in which to have these guests, the concert was intimate and he worked the crowd by jumping down and singing as he walked and you felt like you were in the presence of Jesus and that maybe he might feed the whole crowd from the palm of his hand. Jade was busy doing her Stevie Wonder head roll in the background and you felt like you were amidst the corn with a cold pebbly stream running somewhere beyond the grass in the distance and that we were all about to make love and conceive. A concert I will cherish for many years to come.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

We are currently experiencing higher than usual demand and as such we have run low on our silk stocks for bow ties @ www.lenoeudpapillon.com . In the meantime, there are still lots of bows to choose from our United States website supplier www.tiedeals.com .

We will start getting our new bows trickling in from this Friday (28th January) onwards and will post both the new silks and new shapes onto both the blog and the website.

Currently we have 2 new silks coming through - which is Gaudi's Door and Churchill. Churchill is a black Mogador with white polka dots. It is a stunning silk and one which I am very proud of.

In the meantime, you can always contact us on bow@lenoeudpapillon.com as we keep quite a number of models which are not on the website. For example, midnight blue velvet, white with black piping, Roger M shape black velvet, chocolate with white polka dots etc.

We also now have an expanded range of products on the site which include pocket squares, cravattes, ties and scarves.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Every now and then you land a marlin - which was getting a portrait of Rafael Bonachela (Artistic Director of the Sydney Dance Company) in a bow tie, photographed by Magnus Omme. It takes time - firstly you have to see when Magnus is free, then when Rafael is free, then make sure everyone is comfortable with the shot. But here it is, and he sure does look very good.

On Friday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Cointreau Trocadero Swing night at Sydney Town Hall, one of the events on the calendar of the Sydney Festival. It was a magnificent night with a great old friend. A thousand people dressed to the nines and all learning to swing again. That is what a nightclub should be - and I wish they would bring back nightclubs like these. Justin Hemmes, if you are listening, it's time.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I revisited Rushmore the other night with my friend Ruby who hadn't had the pleasure of watching this extremely well crafted, well executed film about high school student Max Fisher who falls in love with a teacher, Rosemary Cross.

I had the pleasure of spending time with Owen Wilson in Paris in 2007 when he was at the height of his fame - when the media circus was in a frenzy for him. What I glimpsed of his life at that point could only best be described by Fellini's short film 'Toby Dammit' which starred Terence Stamp. For me, having never brushed with fame like that before it was overwhelming. I wondered how the same person in front of me had ever had a chance to sit down and write with such utter clarity a film as thought out as Rushmore.

Sitting down to watch the film I was drawn in from the opening scene by the music, the playfulness, the sincerity and the great humour of this film. And, coming back to it now, I saw just how many times they had managed to dot bow ties amongst the scenes. A Max Fisher lives in me, as I am sure he lives in many of us. Which is why I think I will be coming back to this film over and over again.

Friday, January 14, 2011

I cannot remember slapping my thigh to a new song as much as I have to Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. I am certain I am about 6 months too late to report on it - but boy oh boy, I don't care. It is just a doozy! http://bigpondmusic.com/

Post Script: I just watched them on You Tube Sept 2009 on Letterman. I am so late to get on the bandwagon....

I have always hated headphones for when you arrive somewhere to spend time with friends - it's anti social and you block out all the other sounds you want to hear, like when someone is calling 'Four'.

We used to meet in a group on Sundays at Rushcutters Bay park by the water, and there was only so much output you could get out of the loudspeaker of a Blackberry. I found these backpacks through DJ Matters (http://www.just-matter.com) who was visiting Australia over the sprawling Christmas / New Year period. He recommended this site and so I put myself down for the above bag which I bought here: (http://www.shopscratchtracks.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=75) . You can plug your Iphone, Blackberry, Ipad, Ipod or any other device for that matter, straight into the top pocket of the bag. It uses batteries - although I don't know how much juice it chews.

Judging by DJ Matter's bag, I will be happy - but I will let you know when it arrives.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

There was an old jingle from the 80's here in Australia for McCaine frozen foods. At the end of each advertisement they would say "Ahhhh McCaine, you've done it again!"

That is how I feel about Australian sunglass designer Graz Mulcahy (http://www.grazmulcahy.com/) . Ever since I met this goofy but 'cool' (wish there was another word I could use) kid who walked into a Kings Cross nightclub in the middle of the day, to talk to me about a job as our resident DJ, wearing a white slovenly shirt, rolled up grey vintage woollen pants, no socks and a pair of heavy black boots and rotating his pen around his thumb in that fidgety but skilled manner; I knew he was not a normal human being. Not a normal sunglass designer. Not a normal DJ. As different as we were, despite being worlds apart, it was so easy for me to appreciate what he was. And even though I would venture to say that we have an almost competitive relationship (he would shun that thought through pride - as he believes he is in another stratosphere); I admire everything he puts his hand to because he does it to the best of his ability.

ABOVE: These are the new 'Joel' model of sunglasses I picked up today. As I wore them I could not help but say "Graz Mulcahy, you've done it again"

BELOW: John Lennon - whom I always envied for his sunglass and spectacle collection.

I had the pleasure of meeting Christel Sasso many moons ago - in fact - we had a little kiss outside my friend Thomas' apartment - but then she dropped me somewhere near the Champs De Mars because I was stupidly running to my next social event. If only.... I might have been one of her naked studies.... Regardless, enjoy her images.

I am re-up-loading the "How To Tie A Bow Tie Instruction Manual" again in a PNG file for more clarity. It is 1000 pixels wide so you should be able to click on it and get a higher resolution and then save to desktop. I hope this helps. I have had a couple of customers get confused yet one customer swears by it. Regardless, point 9 is very helpful - which is - log onto You Tube if all else fails.

Jonathan Bartlett stumbled upon our blog and sent these illustrations. His website is: www.seejbdraw.com

He had this to say:

"I've been illustrating for magazines and book publishers for a few years and am now looking for ways to apply it more directly to the fashion industry. I love your bow ties, as well as the blog so I thought who better to share the work with than you"

Saturday, January 8, 2011

After the popularity of Gaudi's Family we have decided to run a few more of this limited edition. Second from the left is Gaudi's door - a translation of a door frame in Gaudi's house in Barcelona - it is green apple and pink in colour.

Above is a new Mogador silk with smaller polka dots which I will be naming the Churchill - and to the bottom is the new premium satin we will be using for all our black satin bows.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Made in Como, our cravattes are printed silk in check and polka dots. We are running these as limited editions and they will be replaced with new designs and variations on shapes in the coming months. If you would like one before they sell out, please order directly from bow@lenoeudpapillon.com. If our new website ever gets finished, they will be available on our online shopping cart within a fortnight. Price: $165AUD.